


Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom

by HeWhoIsMany



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Corruption, F/M, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 03:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8649883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeWhoIsMany/pseuds/HeWhoIsMany
Summary: After finding an odd mushroom, Peach experiences a number of changes, both in mind and body. Are these differences for the better? Or is she slipping into darkness and not even realizing it?





	1. Chapter 1

It was a fine summer morning as Princess Peach took a walk outside the palace. Normally she would be more wary, what with the kidnappings and all, but from what she'd heard Bowser and his family were busy fighting some other tyrant, an alien from the rumors. It was a beautiful day, and the princess decided there was no reason she couldn't walk around her own kingdom. Peach greeted the various people she saw on her way, regardless of their race.

It was on that walk that she saw a spot of yellow peeking out through the grass, something that piqued her interest. Peach moved over to it, and pulled away the grass and moss that had grown over the thing. It was a question mark block, old and faded, lying on the ground. She'd never seen one so old. She decided there was no reason she couldn't try hitting it and seeing what popped out. It was possible that there was some kind of poison mushroom inside, but those were clearly marked and could only hurt you if you ate them. She popped the bottom of the block with her silk gloved fist, and with a faded version of the usual sound they made a mushroom popped out the top. It seemed to be a 1UP mushroom, though the green was a little darker than she'd seen before. Peach smelled it, and it seemed to be fresh enough. She could always use an extra life, and so bit into the fungus. It was more bitter and spicy than other 1UP mushroom's she'd eaten, which were usually overwhelmingly sweet. Peach waited a few seconds and shrugged. She didn't feel sick; in fact, she felt stronger than she'd felt in a long time. She smiled, her teeth a little sharper than normal: today was a good day.

 

It was a few hours later that Peach was sitting on her throne, doing her daily work of hearing the problems of the kingdom. She scratched her side a little as she waited for the next appointment; her skin had been itchy all morning. Before she could satisfy the urge, a guard toad walked in, and saluted her. The Princess rolled her eyes and waved her hand, giving him permission to speak. "Princess, an ambassador from the Koopa Kingdom is here to see you."

Princess. The word echoes in Peach's mind, something was wrong with that. "Send him in, immediately." The guard bowed and walked out, leaving her alone with the silent guards once more, freeing her mind to wander. Why did she still go by that title? Her father had died ages ago, yet despite the fact she was of age, ruling the kingdom, and had proven her value as a leader, she was still called Princess. Something needed to be done about that...

"Hello, Your Highness," said the ambassador, a koopatrol wearing a nice suit. She scowled, an expression rarely worn on her face. Your Highness. Your Majesty would be more appropriate. Peach motioned with her hand, allowing him to speak further. "My Lord King wished to make amends for these years of hostility between our peoples, and gave me the authority to negotiate on the building of embassies here and in our own lands."

She'd heard many missives like this before, from various untrustworthy rulers over the years, and usually Princess Peach remained calm and wise when dealing with them. But now her temper rose. "You want me to allow Bowser to have sovereign soil in my land? What, so he can use it as a base of operations the next time he invades?!"

The ambassador was obviously not expecting this, and replied as calmly as he could, "All due pardons if I've caused offense, Your Highness, but this plan would allow you to have land in our country as well!"

Peach let out a scoff. "Hostages once you're ready to do battle once more."

The anger was beginning to show in the ambassador's voice now. "Your Highness, why are you being so rude? We are attempting to make a peaceful solu-"

"I am not being 'rude', I am being pragmatic. I cannot trust your king or any of the words that slither from his scaly throat. The tyrant has kidnapped me nearly a dozen times in the last decade, he's invaded my land just as often, and he turned my father into a dog! The moment I trust a single syllable of that oaf's peace is the day I turn senile." She turned to look at the shocked, silent guards. "Guards, escort this beast to the dungeon. We'll see what we can get from his master to see him safely returned." Her guards hesitated for just a moment before moving into action, arresting the koopa and hauling him off.

She turned to another guard. "I'll be suspending court for the rest of the day. Escort me to my chambers." As they walked to her room, Peach smiled. Finally, a victory not won by someone else, a success of her own. She didn't know where this burst of confidence came from, but it had worked. If she kept this up, perhaps she could establish a real peace, one the King Koopa respected. As she entered her chamber, she scratched her side once more, and failed to notice her skin had turned a pale shade of yellow.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the next morning, Princess Peach just having gotten dressed and ready for the day, when she received a missive. Mario wanted to see her, something important apparently. She sent back the usual message to meet her in the royal chambers, and then sat down in front of her mirror to think. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, thinking about how casually she'd lived her life thus far. Was it a mistake? Why hadn't she started taking her responsibility more seriously? The more she thought, the more it nagged at her. Things had to change.

The door opened, and Mario entered. That made a cold flash of anger burn through Peach. He didn't even knock? She was his ruler, and he had the nerve to just enter her chamber? "Hello, Peach," he said nonchalantly, "how are you doing this morning?"

Peach took a deep breath, trying to make the anger dissipate. "It's going fine, Mario. I was told you had something urgent to tell me."

"Oh, that..." he replied hesitantly. "Well, Princess Daisy wrote me a letter, apparently something terrible is happening in Sarasaland. She wants me to take the next possible plane over to help." He paused again before finishing. "My flight leaves in an hour."

More anger, now a white-hot rage that threatened to be seen visibly, was barely contained by the Princess. It did manage to manifest itself in the curtness of her response. "I see. Why are you telling me this?"

There was a pause; Mario seemed a little shocked by Peach's words. "Well, you're my friend. I wanted to tell you that I'll be gone for a few weeks, and to write to Daisy if you need me for anything." He noticed the look Peach was giving him, and finished with, "I'd better go; I don't want to miss my flight. I'll see you soon, Princess."

"Goodbye," was the only thing she said before he left. She sat there, fuming over the conversation. How impertinent! He's a commoner, an immigrant, and he dares just show up and speak to her in such a manner! She is his queen, dammit! Peach stopped herself for a moment. She wasn't a queen, just a princess. For now, she thought. For now. She sighed. That wasn't the real reason she was angry, and she knew it. Mario was helping Daisy, another princess. Peach couldn't help but feel jealous at that. That was obviously the reason, she thought. That's the only reason she'd be jealous.

And...he'd called her his friend! After all the times he'd saved her, the years they'd spent together, that's how he described their relationship?! Princess Peach took a breath. As interesting as this self-discovery was, it was better saved for another time. She had something important to do.

 

"I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but what are you suggesting?" Toadsworth asked. "You've ruled fairly and justly for over a decade now, as a Princess. Why would you want to become Queen?"

Peach sighed. She knew there'd be resistance to the idea, especially from her conservative attaché. "Toadsworth, you've pointed out the exact reason I should have been named Queen ages ago. I've been ruling this country in my father's place long enough that we need to stop pretending it's temporary. I'm the ruler of this country, and it's time I started being treated like it. I want a full coronation ceremony in a week."

For a second it looked like the elderly fungus was going to argue, but instead he nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. I'll see to it the preparations are completed by then." He started to walk out of the room, and then stopped. "I wanted you to know, whatever we call you, I'm very proud of the women you've become." With that, he left. Peach smiled, glad the closest thing she had to a father anymore wasn't disappointed with her recent pragmatic streak. She looked at the clock, and saw it was time to hold court.

 

After a full day at court, Peach retired for the night to her bedroom. It had been a long, dull affair, but it needed be be done. She moved to her full length mirror, and started changing into her nightgown. It was going well, until she took off her gloves. It was then she finally started to see what had been happening. Her fingers used to end in femininely trimmed nails, though not long enough to make wearing her gloves difficult. Instead her fingers ended in claws, ones that looked more familiar than they should have. Peach stared at them, shocked. What was going on? She looked back in the mirror, and noticed something else. Her skin looked paler than normal. No, that wasn't right, it wasn't pale...it was turning yellow. Without realizing it she started to itch her side, and then caught herself. She looked closer, and saw that where she'd been scratching, her smooth skin was replaced with yellow scales. Peach sat down, and tried to come to grips with what was happening.


	3. Chapter 3

The oddest thing about Princess Peach's reaction was how nonchalant it was. Peach realized she should be screaming, calling out for a doctor, freaking out. Instead she stared, curiously. What was going on? Scales? Claws? It was then her tongue touched one of her teeth, and she opened her mouth to see what had happened. Peach looked in the mirror to see her teeth had all sharpened, and looked more suited to ripping and tearing meat than to consuming a fine dinner.

Why wasn't she scared? Maybe it was part of the changes, she thought. Peach realized she'd spent the last couple days a lot differently than normal. Peach had been more thoughtful, more confident in herself, in her power. That word is what spurred on the next idea: sharp teeth, claws, yellow scales? Could she be...no that was ridiculous? Then again, Peach noted, only a fool disregarded plain evidence because of a preconceived notion. Mushrooms had made her people grow larger or smaller since time immemorial, why doubt they could do other things as well? Is it really impossible for one to turn her into a koopa?

Peach would research this tomorrow, but considering she'd eaten the thing yesterday, and by now all had changed was parts of her skin, her hands, and her mouth then she wasn't changing very fast. She'd be able to hide the changes for a few days, hopefully, before she changed back. If she wanted to change back, she added.

 

She woke up the next morning, and was immediately certain that something was different. Peach could feel something in her bed-sheets with her, and when she lifted the comforter she saw dust covering different parts of her body, and smooth yellow scales just under it. The patches skin she'd been scratching with irritation the day before was now gone completely. She reached her clawed hand out, to move her fingers across her scales.

It was cool to the touch, soft but unmistakably reptilian. They reminded Peach a little of someone else's scales, but Peach through that idea out headlong into the trash. No matter what may come next, she would never turn out like that monster. Dropping that line of thought, she tried scratching the scales with her new claws, even though she could guess the results ahead of time: nothing. She turned to face the stone of her bedroom wall, and tried scratching that. Peach's claws sunk into the cobblestone like it was made of butter. Peach smirked at that. Her scales were strong, unbelievable so. Interesting.

That wasn't the only change, standing up from her bed; she found the room a little smaller than it should have been. A quick check with the chalk height drawings near her bed showed that Peach had grown at least an inch overnight, maybe more. She gave her body a quick once-over, but that was it. For today.

A quick trip to the calendar showed that it was Starday, which meant that her usual day of holding court was suspended for the weekend. Peach didn't have anything in particular planned, so it was time to go to the Royal Mushroom Library, and see what she could discover about that strange mushroom. Of course, there was the problem of her new changes being discovered. Luckily, Peach realized, they were quite easy to fix.

All she'd have to do is change her wardrobe a little: wear one of her thicker pairs of white gloves, which would cover her new claws up quite nicely. Peach knew her height hadn't changed enough to need a new dress, at least not yet. The new scales Peach wore were all in her torso region, so the dress covered them perfectly. As for her sharp teeth...they weren't too noticeable, and as long as she didn't draw attention to them, no one would notice. She quickly got dressed in her usual garb, a little tighter on her taller frame, and set off for the library.

 

Peach had been searching the dusty old library for hours now, trying every tome she thought might hold some clue to her transformation. She grew more frustrated with every failure, and was nearly beginning to give up when she saw the exact illustration she'd been hoping for in moldy book that, as far as she could tell, didn't have a title. At first Peach thought that maybe it was just age that had darkened a normal 1UP mushroom's picture into something resembling the one she saw, but as she looked closer, it was identical. Sadly the book was written in Ancient Fungese, a language she'd learned to read in her school years but had since dropped from her use almost entirely. She smiled to think all those long hours studying would actually come it handy.

She wasn't able to read some of it, and other parts she wasn't really sure on, but the description seemed read something like this: "The Royal(?) Mushroom: A (word too faded to read) fungus that changes(?) the eater in several ways. It turns them from their original race(?) into a turtle monster (probably means koopa). With this change(?) comes several other developments(?), such as an increase in intelligence, confidence, strength, endurance," but after that the letters were to faded to be read properly. It only became legible again near the bottom. "No cure(?) has been found."

Well, that settled that. There wasn't any cure. And, for that matter, Peach didn't see a reason she needed one. Sure, the koopa thing would be hard to explain, but it was making her smarter, stronger. No longer would she stand by letting others do what they willed in her land. It was time to take action. And if that mushroom was the cause of it? Then a few scales were a small price to pay. She sat up from the table, and headed for her room. It was time to get to work.


	4. Chapter 4

Peach opened her eyes, and smiled. Today was finally the day: the day when she got what was she deserved. The day she became Queen. She rose from her bed, and walked over to the mirror. She'd completed the changes a few days ago, but it hadn't posed any risk, not yet anyway. After her little visit to the library, Peach wrote to Toadsworth that she had caught a terrible cold. It also said not to worry, and that she'd be fine by the time of coronation, but not to let anyone in until then, as human colds can be very dangerous for toads. Peach stressed that the part about staying away was a Royal Decree, and so she'd been left on her own for the rest of the week, watching herself change.

Now that it was done, Peach decided to give herself an once-over in the mirror again before getting dressed. That had been something she hadn't expected from the change: she didn't mind being naked anymore. Peach hadn't worn any clothes for several days now, simply out of comfort. The few patches of scales she'd started with had spread and completely replaced the fleshy skin she'd had before, with a few odd exceptions. Her entire front was encased in a thick, plated kind of scale that was even stronger than her normal scales. Peach didn't have any scales on her face above her muzzle. Instead, Peach had a thick, leathery skin.

Her build had been completely transformed. Where, before, she'd been a skinny girl of slightly above average height, now she was a giant. She was nearly seven feet tall now, and no one would call her skinny. Peach's shoulders were wide and thick, her hips were just as wide, and the width of her torso barely narrowed at all in her waist. Her arms were muscular, her claws sharp enough to slice steel. Peach's breasts had grown to scale with the rest of her, not actually busty considering her size, but she'd struggle to fit into a D-cup bra now. Not that she needed to wear bras anymore; Peach's frontal plating covered her bust very well. While no one would dare call her fat, Peach didn't have the taught stomach she once did. Now her belly was thicker, stronger. On her back was a green shell, covered in sharp spikes. Her legs were as thick and strong as her legs, and as a whole Peach looked like a creature to be feared.

Fear, that thought made Peach smile. The smile revealed the line of sharp fangs in her mouth, useless for eating any kind of vegetable, but perfect for ripping into fresh meat. Her entire mouth had grown into a bulbous muzzle, her nose sitting a few inches out from the rest of her face. Peach's eyes had gained vertical slits, and their previous sky blue was now a deep blood red. And her hair...it was the same length as before, but now it refused to be brushed into smoothness. It was the same red as her eyes, and had an almost spiky appearance.

When the changes first started, Peach had been nervous. Koopas had always been her enemies, and now she was turning into one. But as it progressed, all her doubts vanished. The scales, the shell, the fangs, the claws, it was all endearing now. Peach felt stronger, she felt better. There was a knock on the door, and she looked at the time. The coronation was about to start, she had to hurry. She put on her dress in a flash, and then covered it and her whole body in a large cloak. Peach walked out the door, ready to start the next chapter of her life.

 

"Are you sure you want to do this, Your Highness" Toadsworth asked. Peach nodded, without speaking. Her voice was deeper than it had been before, and she didn't want to give away the surprise to anyone listening just yet. Toadsworth knew, or at least he knew the version of events she'd be telling everyone else. She needed to really sell this if her plan was to succeed. He nodded at her. "Well, it's time, then." He opened the curtain, and Peach walked out to the podium, the plaza literally filled with her citizens.

The crowd's talking vanished into a thick silence at Peach's approach. She stood behind the podium, and began to speak. "Hello, my people! It has been some time since you have last seen me, and that is for good reason..." Peach grabbed the hood of her cloak and pulled it back, revealing her face to the audience. A muffled gasp rang out through the crowd, but it was silenced with a single look from Peach. "As you can see, I have changed. But it was not by my hand, not by my will that I have done so. A magikoopa infiltrated the palace, snuck into my room as I slept, and did this to me, all on the orders of the deceitful King Bowser.

"I do not know about you, but I have tired of his mockery. I have tired of his attacks, his threats, his schemes. I have tired of King Bowser. Sadly for him, his attack didn't leave me a slave, or weakened in any way. On the contrary, I am stronger. Smarter. Your Princess is tired of sitting by while that monster ruins lives, of being kidnapped so often it has become an international joke. It is time that I did something about that. After today, I will no longer be your Princess. I will be your Queen. I make this change not out of a desire for power, but out of necessity. We need to show the world, to show Bowser, that we are not weak. That the Mushroom Kingdom will not stand for his games, for his tyranny, any longer. Let him come, let him try and invade us once more. We will be ready. And you will be safe!"

The crowd went wild, cheers and yells coming from every throat in the audience. The rest of the ceremony went as normal, lots of rules and regulations, lots of Peach having to swear this and swear that. But by the end, they handed her a crown. It was larger than her old one, and fitted with rubies the shape of mushrooms. Peach took off her cloak, revealing her custom made pink and red dress, perfectly fitting her new stature, and put on the crown. The era of Queen Peach had begun.


	5. Chapter 5

Things had gone rather smoothly, after the coronation. The people largely accepted Queen Peach, out of what she felt was a mix of empathy over her non-existent plight, and glee that their leader was going to finally really stand up to Bowser. In the last few days she'd used her power to build up their defenses, train their troops better, instruct their generals on better tactics against the koopa threat. Peach had still had enough time left over to enjoy life, eating a lot more meat than she used to, and training for the day that the fool of a king tried to take her again. In was during her training that morning that a courier had come up to her, panting in exhaustion. It was a missive from Mario, who would be returning to the castle later that day.

Peach smiled at that. She'd actually been missing the mustached hero, and it would be good to see him again. Then, she started to wonder. She'd spent all this time and energy building up the Mushroom Kingdom, trying to break the status quo. But there was something about him, something about Mario that seemed to make change impossible. Something had to be done. Peach sighed, but resigned herself to the idea. It was necessary, she told herself. At least they'd have one last dinner together.

 

Mario sat at one end of the small table, in one of the smaller dining rooms in the castle. He's been told Peach was going to be their soon, and he tried to wait as patiently as he could. The guards had called her a 'queen', and he was interested in asking her exactly what they meant. Had Peach finally stood up and taken the power that had been hers all along? It seemed so unlike her.

"Ah, Mario, it's good to see you again," came a voice from behind him. It sounded like Peach, but it was off somehow, a little more guttural and deep. He turned around to see her, and was shocked to see Peach as a koopa, in the same red dress she'd worn to her coronation. "I bet you're wondering what this is about."

He had to pause for a few seconds before responding. "Princess, is that really you?"

Peach seemed to think about the question as she walked over to her seat. "Yes and no. Yes, I'm Peach Toadstool, the same woman you've known for over a decade now. No, I'm not a Princess anymore. I'm Queen."

There was a thick silence while Mario thought. "What happened?"

"..." Peach's instinct was to lie to him, to tell Mario what she'd told everyone else. But Peach couldn't do that, she owed him more than a lie, especially considering what was coming later. "I found an old, discarded block while walking a few weeks ago, and inside was what looked like a 1UP mushroom. After eating it, I started changing." She paused, and then took a bite of the steak being served for supper. Her sharp teeth tore through the tough meat with no difficulty. "It wasn't just my body that was different; it was my mind as well. I've become quite a bit smarter than I used to be, and more cunning to boot. My morals haven't changed, but I know now what I must do to be a strong ruler. I know my responsibility."

She stopped, as if expecting Mario to chime in at this point, but instead he nodded for Peach to continue. "I researched the mushroom in the library, and after many hours of looking I found the answers I wanted. What it did...is permanent. I'm stuck like this." Peach took a deep breath, and then continued. "And that's okay. Mario, I know this is hard to accept, but I'm better off this way. The kingdom is better this way. Can you accept that?"

He smiled at her, and Peach felt butterflies flap in her stomach. "Of course, Peach. I trust you more than anyone. If you think you can handle this, you can."

Now came the part that the Queen wasn't looking forward to. "Mario, I'm very sorry, but...we're going to have to deport you." Mario's eyes widened, and she hastily continued in an attempt to cover the problem over. "I'm trying to reinforce our kingdom, shake up the status quo, and make sure my people aren't hurt any more. I'm rebuilding our army, working on the technology so we can have an air force and navy that rivals Bowser's. But if we're going to move forward, we can't have you here. It'll be too easy, if every time we're in trouble you come in and save the day single-handedly. The Mushroom Kingdom needs to stand strong, but we need to do so without you." She paused, before speaking in a small, scared voice. "Do you hate me?"

Mario looked up at her, his eyes sad but understanding. "I could never hate you, Princess. And you're right; the Mushroom Kingdom doesn't need my help anymore." He turned and looked out the window, wistfully. "I suppose I'll travel more, help out where I can."

She smiled, and then passed him a package from across the table, his hand briefly holding her claws. "One last thing you need before you leave: it's a key. It's one-of-a-kind, and can open any lock in our kingdom. If something goes wrong, if we fail, or if this change starts twisting me, making me more like...him...I want you to come back. I want you to help us; if you feel you need to."

It was clear to Mario the level of trust Peach was showing him, by giving him this key. "I'll be sure to write," he said, before leaving later that night.

The Queen wiped tears from her eyes. "You do that."

 

It was later that night when she received another missive, this one much direr than the last. The king of Pipe Land had seen Bowser's Airships flying towards the west. Bowser was invading.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been weeks since Peach received the message of the incoming invasion, and the Queen was tense. She had trained her citizens well, and her military forces were in strategic positions, ready to face the oncoming assault. Her scouts occasionally reported in with news of enemy positions and brief skirmishes, but no large battles had actually taken place. Luckily for her, it seemed as if she had predicted Bowser's movements perfectly. When it came down to it, the brute had only two real plans: invade and conquer everything between him and Peach or leave his generals in charge of conquest while he raced to her castle in his clown car to kidnap her. If he had gone for the second option there wasn't much she'd be able to plan for. Peach had worked hard to improve the defense of her capital and castle, but Bowser was a monster beyond anything her guard was ready for. If he wanted to see her, he could do it.

Not that Peach necessarily feared her old captor. She had been training her new body as much as possible, and part of her was very excited to test it out against the barbarian. Instead, it seemed, he was on the war march towards her. The kingdoms in-between them were being annexed one by one, but Peach was ready, Their eastern border with the Sand Kingdom was well guarded, and she'd positioned her forces well enough that she hoped to match the Koopa Army in force, if not exceed it.

Then, one day, Queen Peach received a letter from her border guard's commander: war was upon them. They had been fighting for several days now, and her forces were so far able to hold up against Bowser's onslaught of Magikoopas, Hammer Brothers, and Lakitu. However, the commander was fearful of Bowser himself taking the field, and requested reinforcements. Peach crumpled the paper in her claws, threw it lightly into the air, then let out a small stream of fire from her muzzle burning the letter to ashes. "Oh, you'll be getting reinforcements alright," she growled under her breath. She quickly got dressed in the pink battle armor she had gotten commissioned for her new body, her form tense with anticipation, fear, and excitement. It was time to confront the monster.

 

Bowser, the undisputed King of the Koopas, was getting upset. No, that wasn't quite the right word, furious was more like it. How many times had he waltzed into this kingdom with his army before they'd finally learned to put up as little resistance as possible and just let Mario sort it out? Now, however, he was having difficulty even entering the Mushroom Kingdom. The once paltry border guard was now stocked with all the weapons it could want, fortified in strategically placed walls and fortresses, and staffed by an army just as massive as his own. When they tried flying over in airships, they discovered a winged battalion waiting for them, easily able to enter and disable his fleet. What exactly had happened?

Well, it was going to stop happening. Bowser raised himself from the throne in the flagship tank of his army. "Kamek, Kammy, you're both in charge until I get back. Since it seems my army has grown fat and lazy, it looks like I'm gonna have to invade this kingdom all by myself," he growled. The two ancient magikoopas nodded. Their time serving him had left them jaded enough not to shake in fear in his presence, but he could still see their terror in their eyes. Good. As Bowser exited his tank every guard or soldier he passed dropped to their knees, shaking uncontrollably in his presence. The sight of it made Bowser smile.

Once he had exited, the King saw the current state of the battle: his own soldiers had withdrawn to lick their wounds, and the defenders stood vigilant in their positions atop the fortress walls. Cowards, the lot of them. Bowser started sprinting at the fortress, finally jumping as high as he could once he was close enough. He wasn't quite able to reach the top, but that wasn't an issue for the mighty King of the Koopas. Instead he caught the wall with his claws, steadied himself for a second, and then started climbing up towards the battlements. This had not gone unnoticed from the defenders, who were throwing javelins at him. All Bowser had to do was cling more tightly to the wall, and the projectiles bounced off of his shell. Once their barrage stopped, before he started climbing once more, he let out a laugh, billowing guffaw.

That was a mistake. The soldiers of the Mushroom Kingdom had wheeled over a large vat or cauldron, and from it they poured a stream of boiling hot tar. Normally this wouldn't be much more than a hindrance to Bowser, as he had survived much worse than that. However, his mouth was still open. Bowser accidentally swallowed some of that disgusting liquid, which made him start choking. His hands instinctively rose up to his throat, but without his claws in the wall he immediately fell three stories onto the ground below, still coughing and gasping for air. Without missing a beat, the soldiers atop the battlements threw lit Bob-ombs, and before he could get up and do something about it they exploded.

Bowser was tough, but he wasn't quite that tough. The Mighty King of the Koopas lay on the ground, bruised and bloody. Then, he heard something odd: laughter. It wasn't the laughter of a multitude, but just one person. The voice was feminine and familiar, but had a deep and husky quality that made identifying it difficult. He slowly lifted his head to look around, and was surprised at what he saw. Standing not ten feet away from him was another Royal Koopa, a female. She was nearly as tall as he was, and while her build was slimmer than his, it was still muscular and thick. Her spiky red hair grew out to her midback, and she was wearing plate armor. Plate armor colored pink. Something about her seemed familiar. She was grinning at him, savagely, her sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. "What's wrong Bowser, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt." It seemed like she was taking pleasure in this. Bowser's temper flared, his mind confused, and he started to try and get up, to do something. Bad idea. In a flash she had closed the distance between them and socked him in the jaw, hard. Before he knew what was going on, Bowser was knocked out, cold.

 

Today had been the best day in Queen Peach's life. She was headed home in a small personal airship, and with her was her old captor. Now he was the one unconscious and tied up. It had taken some time, but she'd managed to find manacles and chains made of a metal tough enough to keep him in line. That and a muzzle lock, to keep him from breathing fire. Not that it would hurt her, but Peach thought it would be better if her prisoner didn't set her kingdom on fire. Overall, Peach was extremely pleased with herself. She lay back, smiling fiercely, and she felt one other thing as they headed back towards Toad Town: a low undercurrent of smug, satisfied carnal pleasure at having dominated him so thoroughly.


End file.
